Shooting Ban

Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana to Consider Shooting Ban!
Please Contact the City Council's Rules and Public Policy Committee Today!

The consolidated City of Indianapolis-Marion County may soon consider Proposal 174, which if enacted, would essentially ban the discharge of firearms within the city limits. Authored by Councilor Angela Mansfield (D-2), proposal 174 is riddled with arbitrary and restrictive provisions that are clearly designed to completely outlaw recreational shooting with Indianapolis-Marion County.

Among the proposed draconian changes to existing ordinances are: it will be unlawful to discharge a firearm anywhere within the consolidated city/county limit, except at an approved shooting range; all shooting ranges must be approved by the Sheriff, and the Sheriff shall develop "safety inspection" standards; every range must be approved on an annual basis. Additionally, any shooting range that does not pass "inspection" shall be deemed an environmental public nuisance and shall be subject to closure!

As if those measures aren't onerous enough, Proposal 174 also provides that a person may apply to the sheriff for written approval to shoot firearms on his or her private property if he or she has a minimum of 15 acres! Moreover, the written application submitted to the sheriff must contain the following information: name of the property owner; names of any other persons that the owner is permitting to shoot on his or her property; address and property boundaries of where the person proposes to shoot, time period requested to shoot; and purpose of the request to shoot. As with the shooting range regulations, the sheriff has sole discretion in determining if any shooting activity should be allowed on any property and may revoke approval at any time.

The City County Council's Rules and Public Policy Committee may hear proposal 174 as early as Tuesday, April 3. Please contact the Committee members listed below and strongly encourage them to oppose these arbitrary and outright hostile changes to the City-County firearms discharge ordinance. Also, if your Councilor is not on the Rules and Public Policy Committee, please contact him or her immediately and urge them to oppose Proposal 174!

There are already Laws restricting how close anyone can be to a building or road when shooting. New Laws will do nothing but officially blame hunters for somthing they are not doing. The idiots doing the dangerous shooting are not hunters, so why should hunting be restricted?

Despite the inevetable cop-out of "We're not Pennsylvainia" and "that's not how we do thing here, we should maybe look at how to get Game Management to superceed "local ordinances".

In Pennsylvania, only the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been empowered to regulate hunting and trapping in the Commonwealth. And, while municipalities have the authority to limit the discharge of firearms and bows as part of target practice, shooting ranges or other non-hunting related activities within the their municipalities’ limits, local officials do not have the authority to impact this activity when it is being done as part of lawful hunting or trapping.

There is court precedent on this point. Specifically, in Duff v. Township of Northampton, the Commonwealth Court held that the Game Law (now the Game and Wildlife Code, Title 34) preempts the authority of municipalities to regulate activities governed by that statute, particularly hunting, and was affirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Therefore, any local ordinance prohibiting hunting is invalid. Needless to say, deliberate attempts to enforce laws that are known to be invalid could have a wide variety of repercussions including civil liability. And, if the municipality has an ordinance prohibiting hunting, we would suggest that they amend the ordinance to make an exception for lawful hunting or repeal the ordinance.

We realize that much of some municipalities may not be “huntable” because of safety zones. Statewide, the safety zone for firearms hunters is 150 yards from any house, residence or other building. The statewide archery and crossbow safety zone is 50 yards. Also, the safety zone for all hunters – both firearms and archery -- is 150 yards from any playground, school, nursery school or day-care center. However, safety zone limitations and permission from landowners are what guide hunters’ decision on where they may hunt and not local municipal ordinances.

Specifically, here is Section 322 (Powers and duties of commission) from Title 34 (Game and Wildlife Code), which outlines the agency's authority to govern, among other things, hunting/trapping seasons and bag limits:

Sec. 322. Powers and duties of commission.

(a) Duties. - It shall be the duty of the commission to protect, propagate, manage and preserve the game or wildlife of this Commonwealth and to enforce, by proper actions and proceedings, the laws of this Commonwealth relating thereto.

(b) General powers and duties. - The commission has the power and duty to take all actions necessary for the administration and enforcement of this title.

(c) Specific powers and duties. - In order to administrate and enforce this title, the commission through proper action shall:

(1) Subject to section 2102(b) (relating to seasons, possession, bag limits and devices), fix seasons, daily shooting or taking hours, and any modification thereof, and daily, season and possession limits for any species of game or wildlife.

(2) Remove protection, declare an open season or increase, reduce or close a season.

(3) Increase or reduce bag limits or possession limits.

(4) Define geographic limitations or restrictions.

(5) Fix the type and number of devices which may be used to take game or wildlife.

(6) Limit the number of hunters or furtakers in any designated area and prescribe the lawful methods of hunting or taking furbearers in these areas.

(7) Govern the use of recorded calls or sounds or amplified calls or sounds of any description for taking or hunting game or wildlife.

(8) Add to or change the classification of any wild bird or wild animal.

(9) Prohibit the possession, importation, exportation or release of any species of birds or animals which may be considered dangerous or injurious to the general public or to the wildlife of this Commonwealth.

(10) Manage and develop its lands and waters and other government or private lands and waters under agreement with the owners as it considers advisable and, by proper action and proceedings, enact and enforce regulations to insure the prudent and proper use of these lands.

(11) Collect, classify and preserve such statistics, data and information as in its judgment will tend to promote the object of this title and take charge of and keep all reports, books, papers and documents which shall, in the discharge of its duties, come into its possession or under its control.

(12) Take any necessary action to accomplish and assure the purposes of this title.

(13) Serve the interest of sportsmen by preserving and promoting our special heritage of recreational hunting and furtaking by providing adequate opportunity to hunt and trap the wildlife resources of this Commonwealth.

I figured they weren't aware of the amount of hunting that takes place within Marion County. I would assume the incorporated/city limits would be a good compromise. Is it already that way? I don't hunt there.

They are iddiots !!! They have an outdoor shooting range within city limits. Its the Eagle Creek Range on 56th street. Its used by IPD and on Publick Ground, its open to the publick on weekends and when the police are not useing it. They have already lost the fight to keep out the publick.........
What it is, is the elite money up in that area trying to keep out the riff raff "Gun toteing concervatives"..........LOL. They have their nice little dog park in the same area and are worried about stray bullets.
Serriously if they ban shooting in marion county they need to shut down the range as well, and it will coast way too much money to replace the training facility that has been in operation for a long time.

I had email correspondence with a council member last night and this morning. There will not be a vote that was scheduled for the 17th of April. Apparantly they are doing some research.

As indicated earlier, I don't think they even considered the affect on the urban hunters of Marion County. I brought this to their attention and felt an exemtion was in order for the already designated urban zones.

I had email correspondence with a council member last night and this morning. There will not be a vote that was scheduled for the 17th of April. Apparantly they are doing some research.

As indicated earlier, I don't think they even considered the affect on the urban hunters of Marion County. I brought this to their attention and felt an exemtion was in order for the already designated urban zones.

I will continue to keep all who is interested informed.

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Nice work Rook................looks like a lot of Marion County hunters and shooters might be oweing you a big THANK YOU.

I had email correspondence with a council member last night and this morning. There will not be a vote that was scheduled for the 17th of April. Apparantly they are doing some research.

As indicated earlier, I don't think they even considered the affect on the urban hunters of Marion County. I brought this to their attention and felt an exemtion was in order for the already designated urban zones.

I will continue to keep all who is interested informed.

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Are you sure the Rules and Public Policy Committee will not be voting or otherwise doing something concerning their discharge ban at their April 17 meeting? I am concerned we will be lulled into inaction if people concerned with this issue do not politely show up at their meeting. Even if some areas are exempted from the ban for hunting, there remains the issue of safe practice, target shooting, etc. regardless of your location.

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